My Column: A Different Kind of Feeder
October 24, 2024
My latest column is all about a cool bird-feeder designed by the late Stiles Thomas' son-in-law, David LaLima, that you can build yourself.
Looking for a DIY project?
Make a 'magic' bird feeder
By Jim Wright
Special to The Record | USA TODAY NETWORK - NEW JERSEY
Now that fall is here, more of us backyard birders are putting up our feeders. For the past few years, I’ve been test-driving a feeder designed and built by my friend David LaLima.
I’ve never seen a feeder quite like this one, and here’s why: It’s made from scrap wood and window-screen mesh, and it has a small-bird-size opening so that little birds can dine inside (like some bluebird feeders) and larger birds can dine from a perch on the outside.
David says his feeder has attracted 11 species so far. Red-bellied woodpeckers, for example, dine from outside because their long tongues and bills enable them to snag unshelled peanuts. Bluebirds like to hop through the opening and eat mealworms in the spring and summer.
“My motivation was two-fold,” David says. “I wanted to thwart squirrels, and I wanted to create a feeder for close-up protected viewing of smaller birds.”
Foiling the squirrels was a life lesson learned, he says: “If you first don't succeed, try, try again. This box had at least five iterations.”
Since David’s feeder is made from scrap wood and window-screen mesh, it’s relatively inexpensive. And because the opening forces birds to take longer to eat, I have more time to watch and photograph them.
It’s also a terrific do-it-yourself project with umpteen modifications that you can experiment with. For instance, you can start with one opening in the screen that faces your window so you can watch the birds go in and out. Or you can add a hole in the roof. Tufted titmice like to hop down from the roof, grab a seed, and fly out the side.
David’s magic feeder, as I call it, has just about everything you’d want from a feeder. If you design and build your own, you might want to keep these factors in mind.
* The roof should be hinged so you can flip it open.
* It should be weather-resistant to keep the bird seed dry.
* It should be easy to hang from a feeder pole.
* If you want to photograph your feeder birds, secure a long stick to the top of the roof for birds to perch on.
Some specs: My magic feeder is 9.5 inches long by 6 inches wide by 6 inches high, but you can go bigger if you want to attract more large birds.
If squirrels are still a problem – and when aren’t they? – you can buy Bark Butter bits with hot pepper.
I am posting this column now so you’ll have plenty of time to build a feeder for prime feeding time, which begins next month.
How about you? Do you have a do-it-yourself that you designed and would like to share. Send me a few photos.
The Bird Watcher column appears every other Thursday. Email Jim at [email protected].